Foundations which are used to support surface structures of many types, are preferably formed by substantial amounts of excavation to interface the foundation with the substrate, and provide stability. This is important for both the stability of the foundation and any structures supported thereby. However, there are a number of situations in which conventional excavation is impossible or not appropriate.
In such situations, structures known as ballast foundations must be used. These are foundations that support their overlying structures by virtue of the mass of the foundation resting upon the surface of the substrate (such as the underlying ground, pavement, structure, or the like) to provide stability to the structure supported thereon.
In many situations, concrete foundations are poured to have a large “footprint”. These foundations are often very shallow, being only a few inches in thickness. In some situations, multiple foundation structures are connected together for stability with elaborate superstructure configurations. Very often shallow ballast foundations are stabilized with external anchors driven into the substrate around the ballast foundation.
Unfortunately, there are a number of situations in which large footprints are inappropriate. One example is when there is an extremely uneven substrate contour. Further, in many circumstances it is inappropriate to excavate, even if only to drive relatively small anchors into the substrate around ballast foundations. One example of such circumstances includes landfills upon which structures are to be placed. In landfills, structures are typically anchored without excavating, or otherwise disturbing the underlying earth or substrate.
In some circumstances, the substrate surface is not flat, but the concrete pour of the ballast foundation must still conform to the topography of the underlying substrate. In order to provide proper support for various structures, the ballast foundations must be configured so as to provide the necessary support at any part of the substrate to be utilized.
One solution to the aforementioned problems is the use of precast ballast foundations which are manufactured (including the metal supports extending from the concrete pour) at another location and then transported to the site at which the structure is to be placed on the foundation. However, as efficient as this solution may appear to be, there are substantial drawbacks. In particular, transporting ballast foundations to the final support site may be impractical due to the fragility of the substrate (such as with the covering at a landfill). This is particularly problematic if large ballast foundations are required to support the structure to be mounted. The necessary handling equipment, such as large cranes, may not be able to traverse the substrate upon which the ballast foundations are to be placed. Moreover, this is especially true in situations such as landfills covered with relatively fragile turf. To be clear, if the structure to be mounted on the ballast foundation is to be located on a site where the substrate is still settling, or is subject to various types of environmental degradation, there may not be an appropriate place to safely put precast ballast foundations.
Further yet, the exact placement upon the construction site may be difficult so that propositioned metallic supports placed in the concrete may be inappropriately positioned for the structure to be supported. This is exacerbated by changes in the substrate covering a landfill for example, which might make repositioning of the overall supported structure necessary. Metallic extensions, such as vertical support structures, in precast ballast foundations may prove to be impossible to use due to inexact measurements taken before precasting or due to environmental changes. Once metallic supports are precast in concrete, they cannot be altered to accommodate changes at the job site.
Accordingly, concrete form system for ballast foundations, that can be assembled on-site and will allow adaptation to various types of substrate without excavation, is needed. In many situations, it is far easier to run a tube carrying liquid concrete from another location (more stable) to the site at which the ballast foundation is required. The resulting ballast foundation erected on-site must be sufficiently stable to support relatively heavy and unstable upper structures. The form system must be easy to ship and assemble, and should be adaptable to a wide range of foundation requirements.